FAITH NEWS SERVICE – You’re not alone.
Many students struggle on the educational journey. According to educationdata.org, 73 percent of students who dropped out of high school said their parents encouraged them to stay in school. What’s even more startling is that students from lower socioeconomic status are five times more likely to drop out of high school.*
After a school boycott, Verna lost hope momentarily of ever completing high school. Later, once her spirit was awakened, she pressed forward and navigated the education system as a young military wife, moving several times, and eventually completing a doctoral degree in her early fifties.
Since obtaining these accomplishments, Coach Verna has dedicated her life to helping students obtain the skills necessary to stay in school and to acquire the motivation needed to learn, grow, and to be their best.
Part memoir and part student guidebook, Stay the Course shares that it’s possible to overcome hardship and achieve dreams. In fact, as stated by Brian and April Ward, the foreword writers, “readers will soon find themselves cheering alongside Verna and her husband in their efforts to make their lives as wonderful as they have become.” Harvey says, “Being mindful of obstacles many students face, I wrote this book to assist those who need help with practical, mundane matters hindering their educational success.”
Dr. Harvey’s writing is honest and leaves no subject vague. From how her upbringing shaped her early education to the military’s impact on her family and education, students of all experiences (primary, secondary, dropout, and postsecondary) should, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, be able to “. . . think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.”
With over one hundred nuggets of practical guidance, students will gain knowledge for using practical everyday habits, academic practices, and making good decisions, giving them confidence to stay the course because the world needs them to be their best.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faced with the possibility of never finishing high school, Dr. Verna Harvey didn’t let disappointment stop her. She earned her GED and eventually a doctoral degree in her early fifties. Along with her retired military husband, Len, they now empower students to leave discouragement behind and to reach for their dreams. The husband and wife team live in Georgia, where prior to COVID-19, they were involved in the Community Partners in Education (CPIE) program for elementary students and Living Bridges Ministry, where Verna co-taught students in Transformations, a program designed to assist students in getting out of poverty—the same predicament in which she and Len once lived.
For review copies and media interviews, contact Verna Harvey using the contact link provided at vernafosterharvey.com
* https://educationdata.org/high-school-dropout-rate
